


Poetic Simplicity

by Dammitdraco



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, Hogwarts
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-27
Updated: 2018-04-27
Packaged: 2019-04-28 16:18:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 8
Words: 9,964
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14453019
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dammitdraco/pseuds/Dammitdraco
Summary: Malyn Highland is simple. She likes school and being alone, she appreciates the beauty of silence. She's admired the Weasley clan for years from afar, but when the opportunity for her to observe them up-close and personal comes, she grasps the chance between her fingers. Was this her new reality, or was it all a delusion given to her by her touch-starved mind?





	1. Chapter 01

Malyn Alicia Highland was sitting as she always did at the table. Her best friend, Riley, was by her side as she slumped over her plate, with the most horrible posture possible. All around, conversation rang through the air and stung at her ears. The two girls, however, were silent as they ate what was on their plates.  
Malyn was tired and ready for bed, even though the time was barely touching seven o’clock.. She knew she could not go to bed as soon as she craved to, there was far too much to do. Though there was still two days until classes started, she had much preparing for the term to accomplish.  
She had been told many times, and was fully aware of the fact, that she was very studious. She was very concerned with her education, and constantly attempting to be as efficient and difficult on herself as possible. She color coded her textbooks and inserted pages so she could write her own notes and questions (because she did this before classes began).   
Despite knowing very well that perhaps she was a bit harsh with her routines when it came to school, she didn’t plan on changing it. Education, to Malyn, was one thing that should not be trifled with. It is the one thing, in her mind, that held a value, yet couldn’t be bought. Sure, you could pay to go to a very fine school, but you would never get that education if you didn’t put forth the effort.  
“Will you take a break for tonight, Maly? I know you have a lot to do, but a night off couldn’t hurt. Think of it as a mandatory relaxation period.” Riley spoke from beside the girl, hoping that she would accept (even though she hadn’t the last three years).   
“Maybe for a bit, but I can’t take the whole night off,” Malyn responded, looking up to her friend.   
On Riley’s other side began the crowd of people that was the Weasley family: Four red-heads, Hermione Granger, and Harry Potter. Though the last two weren’t technically a part of their family, they were considered as such by the majority of the school. Malyn realized that perhaps she’d been “glancing” for a moment too long, but made no rush to look away.  
Besides the fact that Malyn thought they were a beautiful family, she had always been interested in their dynamic. They’d all been raised with such love and care, it astounded her how (usually) well behaved they were. Of course, there were exceptions to that, but generally they were good people. That was an observation she’d made from afar, as she’d never had classes with or approached any of them.  
The two Gryffindor girls remained seated once Professor Dumbledore spoke and dismissed everyone to their common rooms. They’d wait for everyone else to leave and then begin their trek up to the tower. Neither of them were particularly inclined to the touching, pushing, shoving, and general chaos that it was to attempt leaving with everyone else. They would simply just ask Professor McGonogall for the password if need be, though they usually weren’t too far behind.  
“Come on, then,” Malyn spoke, standing once the entrance to the hall didn’t have too many people crowding through it.   
The two walked in sync with each other, talking all the way about how their summers had gone. Certainly, they’d written over the summer, but they’d been far too busy for visits. At least, Riley had been.  
Riley lived her way much differently than Malyn did. In theory and in practice, they’d grown up in a fairly similar manner. However, in the last few years, so many things had changed in Malyn’s life, that she was now living very oppositely of how she had imagined her life.  
“We spent most of July at our home in the French countryside, but the rest of the summer we were at the house in Greece. We had dinner with the Malfoys a few times, but that wasn’t very eventful; it was mostly Dad’s business. Did you do anything?” Riley asked, already expecting that she hadn’t.  
“I redecorated the entire house, if that counts for anything. I worked at that daycare for the summer, but I didn’t do much else. I didn’t see anybody, go anywhere.”  
“Why not? You have tons of money, and a house in Ireland. Yet, you never go, and you haven’t since you were, what, 12?”  
Malyn didn’t answer. They had this conversation every year, and it always had the same outcome. She didn’t want to say what she always did and cause Riley to feel bad. It was a battle that was fought and lost every single time.  
As they reached the portrait hole, Riley skipped forward and leaned into Neville Longbottom, asking him for the password. Looking flustered and blushing furiously, he stuttered it out to her. She nearly kissed him on the cheek out of thanks, but figured he was embarrassed enough simply talking to her. Malyn couldn’t blame him; to be seen speaking to Riley Yager could do things to your reputation.  
“Toad’s foot,” Riley announced loudly, striding back over to Malyn with a look of disgust on her face. She was always complaining about how “unclean” the passwords were, but could never think of an actual solution to what wasn’t even a real problem.  
Avoiding the touch of others as much as she possibly could, Malyn slid through the the portrait hole and moved to sit in a small chair in a corner of the common room. Riley left her there and walked up to their room, most likely to begin unpacking. Malyn didn’t mind, she was fairly used to being alone, though this didn’t quite qualify as alone, seeing as the common room was filled with people.  
She pulled out her History of Magic textbook and a purple highlighter. She knew herself well enough to know that she wasn’t really able to learn in the environment provided by Professor Binns. Therefore, she knew she would have to basically teach herself if she wanted to get at least an “Exceeds Expectations” on her OWLs. True, they were just beginning the year and she had two full terms until the tests, but there was no time to waste in her thoughts.  
She tried to block out the sounds of voices coming from around her, while still embracing the others. The fire crackling, her pages turning, the uncapping of her colored pen. To her, those were white noises, constant and consistent, while the conversations were ever changing, just as the people who were having them.  
Malyn noticed, though she tried not to, the Weasley twins sitting near her. They had their friend, Lee Jordan, with them. They were speaking as loudly as ever, which was only just as distracting as ever. Of course, Malyn though all of the Weasleys were very distracting, and she’d have rather thrown herself off the Astronomy Tower than try to sit in the library with them.  
“Hey, you! You, with the fancy pen, who is for some reason looking at a textbook,” she heard Lee Jordan say. It took her a good 10 seconds to realize that he was talking to her.  
“Um, yes?” She asked, sweeping her hair to the side as she glanced up at the three boys near her.  
“I’m going to temporarily forget the fact that you must obviously have had a very damaged childhood, because only people like that would be reading a textbook before class even has started. Because you’re reading said textbook, I’m going to assume you’re smart. Would that be correct?”  
Malyn didn’t know how to respond. Not only was she just accused of having a damaged childhood, which she found fairly offensive, all three of these people, two of whom she had been “observing from afar” for years, were paying attention to her. And they wanted to know if she was smart.  
“I suppose you could say that.”  
“Wonderful, then would you PLEASE tell these idiots that Hogwarts has only been in session for 300 years? They just don’t listen, and refuse to believe anything I tell them.”  
“I would tell them that, but Hogwarts was founded in 990 A.D. and that’s quite a bit more than 300 years. It says so in “Hogwarts: A History”, if you cared at all about the source that’s proving you wrong.”  
“Naturally, I’m never right. Back to the damaged childhood, why are you reading a textbook?”  
“I didn’t have a damaged childhood, I had a very nice one with parents that worked often and 3 vacation homes, until they died. Now I have one vacation home. I’m reading this textbook because I don’t care for mediocrity in anything I do, my education included. That said, I’d really like to get back to this; I’m reading a rather fabulous and informative section about the goblin war.”  
Without another word, Malyn turned back. Because she was looking so intently at her book, she couldn’t see that Fred Weasley himself was staring at her in utter disbelief that such a wonderful person even existed.


	2. Chapter 02

Malyn had been very hard at work for at least 9 hours (starting at 5 A.M.) before Riley was able to finally pry her away from her mountain of textbooks. Even after abandoning her work, it was hard for her to agree to do something. She didn’t want to go to the lake for a swim, or sneak to the kitchens for food. She just wanted to relax and be free, without having to “do something”.   
If she was going to stop doing what she felt like she needed to in order to “relax”, then to hell if she wasn’t going to actually relax. She didn’t want to have to focus on keeping her head above water to enjoy herself.  
“I love you, but you’re slowly becoming more and more of a killjoy,” Riley said, as the two plopped down on a sofa in the nearly-empty common room.   
“I’m sorry you feel that way. I see no reason in exerting myself in order to take a break from exerting myself. It’s not logical, Riley. There’s nothing wrong with just sitting, living, and being still. Everyone could use a bit of stillness.” Malyn didn’t expect that Riley would understand. Of course, she wouldn’t. They were living two very separate lives, and Riley could not comprehend the solace that she found in simply being alive and existing.  
“You can’t be still while the Earth is turning, Mal. You can stay here, but I’m going to get something to eat.” Without another word, Riley got up promptly and left Malyn alone.  
It was clear that Riley was growing more and more frustrated with Malyn as the day went by. She just couldn’t appreciate that Malyn wanted simplicity. She could not appreciate that it was a very different thing to satisfy Malyn rather than herself. Riley was complex, and enjoyed complex things, yet couldn’t comprehend even the most basic of ideas.  
“That was a truly lovely chat you two just had. Next time though, would you mind changing your volume levels so not everyone in the common room can hear you?” Lee Jordan spoke from toward the middle of the room.  
“’Everyone’ meaning the three of you? You didn’t have to listen, you chose to. However, I apologize if we were a bit loud.” Malyn barely made eye contact with him before looking away, not interested in the idea of a confrontation.  
The three boys stared at the girl, unable to understand how she didn’t realize they were joking. Did she always take everything so seriously?  
Since their first encounter, Fred, George and Lee had been noticing everything they could about this girl. They’d smoothly asked around and gathered information. Odd as it seemed, Hermione knew a great deal about the girl, mostly from having to work with her in Hermione’s advanced classes.  
Per Hermione’s knowledge, Malyn was alone much of the time, both at home and at school. Her sense of humor was nothing like the twins’ own, and she was a very serious person, specifically when it came to school. Hermione told them as much as she could about what had happened to Malyn’s parents and how utterly stiff she always seemed to be around families.   
Their original intent was to use her for her brains. They needed someone who could mix potions and cast charms, to help them with their plans for the future. The more they learned about her, though, the more they felt guilty that they’d even had the thought of simply using her. Also, they felt more awful because she had generally no one, and they had so many friends and people in their families. They wanted to befriend her, but it was proving much more difficult than they’d imagined.  
“That was a joke, Malyn… a joke.” Lee muttered, though loudly enough for her to hear. She blushed, feeling lucky that he couldn’t see her too well. There was more than one reason she was blushing:  
1.) Lee Jordan had just said her name. Which meant that:  
A.) He knew her name.  
B.) The twins knew her name.  
C.) Somebody else had obviously said her name at some point for him to hear it.  
2.) He had made a joke and she took it as him being seriously frustrated with her.  
3.) She could see that the twins were looking at her, even if they couldn’t see her so well.  
“Oh, sorry.” Was all she could manage to get out of her pathetic mouth. She wanted to be hit with a brick for acting like such an idiot. However, there were no bricks within arm’s reach and she knew there’d be no acting as if she was normal if she did hit herself.  
“Stop apologizing, Love. If anything, we should be apologizing. But, we didn’t do too much of anything wrong, so we’re not going to. What’s your story?” Fred spoke.  
His voice alone nearly gave her a panic attack. Fred Weasley was speaking to her. Not only was he speaking to her, he was asking her about herself. What did he want to know? What would she say? Certainly, it would be something of utter brilliance and depth.  
“I’m just a school. I mean, school is what I do. I’m not a school, I’m a person.” Yes, utter brilliance and depth.  
The urge to hit herself with a heavy, blunt object returned swiftly and presented itself, saying to her, “do it, end your suffering,”.  
Of course, just as she was beginning to seriously consider it, the shame got worse. George Weasley started laughing. She was positive that he was laughing at her. True, he was, but she would have laughed too if the situation was swapped.  
“Oh, that was too good. The next time someone asks me what my gender is for a survey, I’m going to tell them that its school.” George said, turning his body back so he was facing the other two, thus closing herself from their conversation any further. Naturally, she was much more relieved than she was excluded. Now, she could think about ending her suffering privately.  
She had to convince herself not to go grab a textbook from her dormitory. She’d brought a magazine, her favorite fashion and beauty for the witch world subscription, and that would certainly suffice.  
She grabbed that from her small bag, along with a pen (they were much more practical than a quill, and she wasn’t afraid to admit it) and began circling everything on the pages that she thought she might want. She’d need Riley’s second opinion before ordering something, just in case it was a mistake.  
When Riley did finally show up from her adventure, the two sat on the chair together and filled out order forms. As days went, it certainly could have been worse.


	3. Chapter 03

Malyn was all too happy by the end of the second week of school. Classes had just been getting increasingly more difficult and she had remained beyond joyful about every aspect of it.  
“Wasn’t that a lovely lesson, Riley? I never knew goblins were so possessive, can you believe that?” Malyn chattered away.  
“Yes, Mal, I can. You know how I can believe that? Because that’s what the professor said and I always assume that I should trust them. It’s not out of the ordinary to be possessive for and species, goblins included.”  
“Yes, that’s true I suppo-“  
“If you don’t stop talking about class, I’m going to kill you. Where are you going for Christmas? My mother just let me know that were going to Egypt for a vacation. Egypt is fine, I was just really shooting for Maldives.”  
“I have no idea Riley. I’ll probably just stay here, honestly. There’s no reason for me to go to my house, no one will be there.”  
“No one will be here, either. Why don’t you just be more outgoing? Yeah, make some friends. More friends than just me, I mean. You might be surprised with how much you can actually enjoy life and breaks if you get to know more people.”  
Riley made it seem as if it had never crossed her mind to make more friends. She could, very easily even, if she wanted to. There was a very simple reason that she didn’t want to: she didn’t want to give herself the chance to lose anyone else.  
Of course, this reason was a fact that she had deeply repressed and ignored for quite some time. She refused, even to herself, to acknowledge it as a truth.   
“Wow, really? I must say, the thought never crossed my mind, Riley. You deserve a golden star for sheer brilliance. Truly, what an outstanding idea!”  
Riley was not particularly bothered by her friend’s sarcasm. It was a trait of hers than other people rarely saw.   
“Oh, shut up.”  
Lunch time rolled around quickly as the day passed. Malyn had not been maintaining proper dietary habits, simply because it hadn’t crossed her mind. Lately, she’d been eating far too little. So, she decided she would make up for all the food she hadn’t eaten at lunch.  
Her plate was stacked with potatoes and chicken, lettuce and fruit. She knew, in theory, that there was no real way she was going to finish it all. Of course, that wasn’t going to stop her from trying, now was it?  
She took a deep breath, staring at the food as she channeled her inner Ronald Weasley. She could, and would, do this. After all, it was just food, and it was food that she liked. It’s not like eating a bit more than usual would kill her. It might make her sick, but it wasn’t going to put her six feet under.  
“Staring at the food doesn’t put it in your stomach,” George Weasley said, taking a seat next to her, beginning to pile up his own plate.  
“I’m preparing myself, not that I need to justify myself to you.” It occurred to her that she had, in fact, said it quite rudely. At least, though, she hadn’t accidentally called herself a school again. She supposed that an actual valid sentence was a step up, however snappy it may have been.  
“Preparing? Are you testing yourself on your stomach’s capacity? I assure you, that’s not even very much.”  
She turned away from him, not really caring what he said. Perhaps she was being a bitter shrew, but she wasn’t bothered by her own attitude. So, she began to munch on the pile of food in front of her, eating slowly even though she knew that would only make things worse.  
Maybe a little over half way through, she decided that she was very much done. While she hadn’t eaten everything, she decided it was still a victory, as she’d had a bite of everything and had indulged every one of the main food groups.  
Directly after lunch on Fridays, she had a free hour (by that, it really means a free 2 hours). She immediately began heading to the common room to work on an essay, pacing her steps so she was walking as fast as she could without actually running.   
The essay wasn’t hard, or particularly long. It was for Defense Against the Dark Arts, which was a fine subject, but not her favorite. She preferred charms, and excelled in it greatly. So much so, that she was in advanced charms class, rather than the common one. It wasn’t something she tended to boast about, though she could be quite the cocky girl when it came to it.  
Not before long, she was finished with the essay (and still had an hour and a half of free time). Having sat around enough lately, she decided to roam the grounds and “explore”. She wandered down to the greenhouses and out to the lake. Ultimately, she found herself sitting in the Astronomy Tower, legs dangling off the edge. From deep within her, a soft melody from an old Irish song flowed past her lips.  
She filled the whole area with sound, knowing that it was empty. Her lungs worked hard to provide her with proper breath support in order to sustain her voice. The air flooded in around her as the wind blew, cutting through the noise she produced, but not damaging it.  
When her song was over, she simply let it be so, and sat still upon the ledge, staring out at the world. Still as she was, the Earth was still turning.   
It was so cleanly silent that she could hear her heart, still beating to the sound of the song that she was no longer singing. Even the birds were quiet. It was only once they started up again that she stood and began descending the stairs, heading to the common room once again.


	4. Chapter 04

In the castle, there was an area so deep in the dungeons that it was nearly impossible to find without a map. Luckily, Fred and George did have a map, as they’d recreated that which they stole from Filch’s office first year. Also luckily for them, they had two specific dots belonging to one specific person that they were trying to find. Malyn Highland was a tricky girl to locate on the weekends.  
Commonly, she would be in her dorm or in the common room, sitting in a chair working on essays and studying. She could also be found in an empty classroom, practicing charms or brewing quick potions. Once she had no work to complete left, she was never in the rooms where one would commonly look.  
Not that they would every admit to having kept an eye on where she was at all times, the twins kept a mental note of all the odd places she’d been over the last two weeks. On a Friday at 7 AM, she was sitting in the Dark Forest; not far enough to be dangerous, but it was odd. On a Saturday at noon, she’d been in a tree just above the lake. And now, a Friday at 11 AM, the two found themselves wandering through the thickness of the dungeons to look for her.  
“Why in Merlin’s name is she down here?” George asked, only to be shushed violently by Fred. Exasperated (and out of breath), George threw up his hands. He watched as Fred crept around a wall and glanced past. Quickly, he drew back. George gave him a questioning look and he shook his head.  
“Why are you two following me?” Came a voice from behind the two, earning a rather girlish scream from George, who whipped around to face her so quickly that he nearly hit her.  
“We’re not following you, actually. We, uh, were looking for someone, but it wasn’t you.” Fred tried to say, before being told to shut up by both people before him.  
“It’s funny that you say that, because no one else ever comes down here. They’re “afraid”, or they don’t know that it’s even here. One way or another, this area gets traffic from one person only, and that’s me. So, unless you were looking for a few certain ghosts, then I’m 100% positive that it’s me who you were following. Therefore, I’ll ask you again, only once. Why? What do you want? Not that I don’t appreciate the attention, I’d just rather have it up front than having you two chasing me all around everywhere I go.”  
Fred and George exchanged looks. Did they want to tell her the truth, or lie to her? At this point, what even was the truth? Neither of them could really decide what to say, as it all sounded rather dodgy and they didn’t want to scare her off before any of the actually weird stuff started.  
Fred and George were on a mission (which was actually many missions at once, though they were somewhat interconnected). They wanted two very simple things:  
First, they wanted t befriend Malyn. They’d seen this poor girl walk around all alone too many times. They’d heard far too much about her being alone on the holidays, and having no friends, and not having the ability to even make more friends. They wanted to befriend her, give her a place to visit that she doesn’t own thanks to her parent’s deaths.  
Second, they wanted help. Specifically, they wanted help with their plans for the joke shop that they’d wanted since they were children. Yet more specifically, they wanted her help with the aforementioned joke shop. She was a genius, and had proven it on every possible occasion, even if by accident.  
“We want a friend, who we can trust, besides Lee to help us with something. We want a friend, and help, so who better than you? IT gives you something to do besides walk in odd parts of the castle, and it gives us an excuse to talk to you until one of us gets the courage to ask you out, by which time we won’t need an excuse.” George regretted the last line, as he could feel the holes burning from where Fred was glaring.  
Malyn’s face was unreadable. Her expression had not changed at all in the last two minutes of her standing there, most likely cursing them in her head. She hadn’t shifted her weight or changed her stance, it was all the same, and made it impossible to tell what she was thinking.  
“That sounds like bullshit.” She said plainly, dropping her shoulders and crossing her arms. Fred and George were baffled as to how she thought he was lying. Not only was he an excellent liar, he was telling the truth!  
“Just think, you were smart enough to trick us, the biggest pranksters in the school! If we wanted help with something, why wouldn’t we ask the smartest girl we know of? And why wouldn’t we offer her our friendship, simply out of the niceness of our hearts, and lust in our pelvises?”   
Fred wanted to kill himself. He wanted to climb every single damn step up the astronomy tower, and jump off of it. Better, he wanted Malyn to push him off because how dare he. What dreadful part of his brain made him speak about his genitalia and it’s wants in front of her.  
George nearly hit him. He loved his twin, dearly and utterly. However, he was a bloody idiot. Certainly, Malyn was going to kill them both. And certainly, she would never want to be their friend now. Until he heard her laugh a bit.  
“I think that was even more pathetic than me calling myself a school. I suppose, if you can muster up the courage to say that to my face, it can’t be any worse if you were to talk about me behind my back for some reason. I’ll think about it, I suppose. The friendship, I mean, not your pelvis. Though, my mind just may wander there, Fred Weasley. Have a good day, boys.” She turned and began to strut down the hallway, feeling beyond confident. “Oh, and boys,” she called over her shoulder,” stop following me around.  
**** **** **** **** **** ****   
Riley had been beyond ecstatic when Malyn told her of her latest run in with the twins, with complete details of genital talk and slight flirting on Malyn’s part. Automatically, Riley demanded the need for new lingerie, for the both of them. Malyn had said no, of course, because it was just flirting and she was not the type (as she had never even kissed a boy let alone slept with one or even really thought about it).  
“I do hope you understand, after having been my friend for our entire lives, that telling me no does not mean that I intend to listen to you.” Riley had told her. Of course, Malyn knew, but it was worth the try.  
“What about this one? Blue could be your color,” Riley suggested, holding up the page of a magazine as they sat on her bed, maybe a meter apart. The “piece” in question couldn’t be considered underwear, as it wouldn’t cover very much of anything. The entire set consisted of three miniature triangles (made out of completely (very) sheer fabric), which were held together by very thing straps (made totally out of dark blue lace).  
“Riley, no. If you’re going to insist that I get anything like that, can it at least cover a bit more?” Malyn whined. Riley couldn’t see her problem, as she had zero insecurities and had plenty of experience with people seeing her naked (both partially and fully).  
“It’s cute, Mal. Listen, there’s no point in wearing a full outfit, as it’s just going to end up on the floor, but you have to have something because build-up is very important. It all evens out.”  
Malyn hid her face, thoroughly embarrassed and certainly terrified that Riley might force it on her. More so, she might just buy it and literally force it onto Malyn’s body, as she had no sense of privacy and bodily solidarity.  
“With as much love as I can possibly muster, fuck off Malyn.”


	5. Chapter 05

There was not a second of possible doubt in Malyn’s mind as to exactly what the contents of the package she had just received was. There was a few things telling her what it was:  
!.) Riley was giving her a look that only someone exactly like Riley could give, and Malyn knew exactly what it meant.  
2.) She had no family or friends to send her things, and she hadn’t ordered it so it most certainly had to have been Riley.  
3.) The box was (partially) see through.  
Malyn didn’t try to hide any embarrassment at the fact that she’d just received a box full of the skimpiest undergarments ever seen. In fact, she wasn’t even truly that embarrassed. No, mostly just frustrated with her best friend, who quite frankly didn’t care.  
“Ah yes, my uniforms for my new night job have finally arrived,” She said, with a certain simplicity in her voice that somehow made it funny.   
From the table behind her (the Slytherin table where many Slytherins were currently watching her), Draco Malfoy began to cackle. Now, nobody had ever hear him do so, so it took a moment to realize that’s what was happening. Naturally, Malyn was flattered (and it most certainly wasn’t because she’d had a crush on him since she was 8 years old, thank you very much!).  
“Where’s that job at? I’d like to stop by sometime.” Fred said, faking a smirk, but really very frustrated and the only reason he’d said it was because he wanted Malyn’s attention to be taken off of Malfoy. He just couldn’t believe that she was encouraging his participation in her life. How was she not appalled that such a person could even exist?  
“It’s a privately-owned business, run by yours truly,” Riley piped in. She hadn’t realized that Malyn would get so much attention from so many people. Not that she would ever admit it, or even realize it, but she was quite jealous that the focus wasn’t on her. She was so used to getting all of the attention and being the one everyone looked at, she didn’t know how to handle this.  
It could be said, very easily, that the whole five minutes that this all took place was a viciously passive-aggressive battle for attention. Malyn was getting loads of attention, and though she didn’t want it, she didn’t particularly mind it. She was giving Draco attention, when it was Fred who wanted it so terribly that it hurt his chest. Then there was Riley, who wanted attention from anyone and everyone and couldn’t stand the idea that her best friend was simply letting this happen, she she’d never done so before.  
To say the least, it was one of the more ridiculous things that’d happened that week, and was definitely something out of a Shakespeare play, which all of them would have known if they’d ever felt the need to indulge in muggle books. However, their lack of general cultural diversity and knowledge of anything that doesn’t necessarily have anything to do with them isn’t the point. The point is, it was a mess.  
The state of aforementioned messiness did not improve over breakfast. It did not improve after breakfast. And it most certainly did not improve when Draco Malfoy strolled over to Malyn and began speaking to her, directly in front of everyone who had been battling with him for attention just a few hours prior.  
“Malyn Highland, now, if that’s not a name that gets every heart within 100 miles racing, I don’t know which name will,” he said, confidently striding over with his own friends behind him (who he had ordered to behave and be civil because he didn’t want them ruining anything). Draco stopped when he reached them, and noticed very much when Fred Weasley put his hand on Malyn’s shoulder and she pushed it off.  
“That so? Last I heard, nothing gets your heart racing except bullying children and torturing Harry Potter and his absolutely lovely friends.” Malyn did not need Fred to touch her and make her feel safe, she did not need anyone to protect her. Not from Draco Malfoy, at least. Not from this person who she’d known her whole life and felt so comfortable around, even if she disagreed with him on many things.  
“I don’t know, Mal. I think I made his heart race a few times, eh Draco?” Riley said, nudging Malyn, smirking widely until the smirk was ripped viciously from her face.  
“Riley, you didn’t even make my heart race, and I’ve been inside of you multiple times,” Blaise Zabini spoke up.  
Had there been water in anyone who witnessed this absolute savagery mouth, it would have been spit out. Very inconveniently for these story-telling purposes, none of them did have water, so they merely choked on air for a moment and tried to cope with the fact that, yes, he’d just said that. Riley was not coping with any part of it. Here she was, trying to be a nice, fun-loving attention whore, and here he was throwing things up in her face. Surely, none of them would sleep with her now that they knew she’d already slept with Blaise… Or would they?  
It was awkward. Do they mention that that’d just happened? Should someone speak? Rightfully, should Riley make a witty comment that she was known for? Was she about to finally get the attention that she so utterly believed that she was entitled to, even though she’d done absolutely nothing?!!?  
I apologize. As the narrator, it’s my soul duty to make this interesting for you. Regretfully, I have to inform you that no, she didn’t receive any attention from this. There is no possible way for me to spin this in a way that is good for all parties involved. I wish that I could say that someone didn’t get hurt, and that no one will ever get hurt because every part of Malyn Highland’s life was perfect and everyone was always joyous. That’s false.  
Malyn looked to her best friend, who she so loved and appreciated, and noticed the angry tears that were starting to sting her eyes. When Riley turned and walked away, Malyn made the horrible choice to say something to Mr.Blaise Zabini. Yes, she was telling him that he was an inconsiderate idiot who should have been aborted, but that’s not what Riley saw. When she looked back, all she saw was her best friend, still standing there talking to someone who had just insulted her. That was enough for Riley to actually cry about. So she did.

*** *** *** *** ***  
Malyn and Riley had stayed very low-profile the last few days. They did not speak of the “incident”, which may not have been exactly the best way to handle it, but it’s how they coped. Silently, Malyn reminded herself of how things were, how they had always been.  
She was a quiet bookworm, the one who had the best grades and cared about simple things too much. She was not this new, flirty and funny version of herself that she’d been for a couple days. That girl was Riley.  
It might seem unfair to some, but it made sense to Malyn. If Malyn was getting attention, then Riley wasn’t and Riley could not function without the approval and appreciation of others. If Malyn had to give that up so Riley could have it, she didn’t mind. Because, in all honesty, Riley was the only person that she really had in her life, the only one who had somehow stayed with her. She couldn’t give that up, and she would refuse even if she could. There’s something to be said about those who stay even if they don’t have to, even if things get so hard that you almost break. When Malyn had broken, Riley had fixed her, and she wouldn’t give that up.


	6. Chapter 06

Riley felt horrible. She had written her sister about everything that had happened, expecting her to receive some sage words about friendship. Instead, the reply she got was all about how Riley was being selfish. Malyn had lost everyone, and had stood in Riley’s shadow since they were babies. It wasn’t fair that Riley couldn’t find room in her heart for Malyn if she wasn’t being submissive to Riley and what she wanted.  
Riley didn’t understand it. She had no clue how she hadn’t realized that she’d been keeping her own best friend in the dark and standing over her for so long. It was painful for her to see, because she didn’t want to picture herself as the villain but she knew that in this situation she most certainly was.  
Therefore, she decided to have a talk with Malyn and tell her that she was sorry. This conversation actually consisted of more tears and sobbing than words, so the best I can really do is tell you the generality of what had been said. Riley was sorry, she wanted Malyn to be comfortable and be able to have fun and grow with herself. Then they both promised to try to be their best versions of themselves towards each other, but to hell with Blaise Zabini.  
The change in both girls was noticed by teachers and students alike. They were suddenly both very outspoken (Malyn had always been outspoken, just under her breath so no one could hear it). Both of them were comfortable and neither of them cared if the other was getting attention.  
“Good morning, boys,” Malyn said, sitting next to the twins one fine and bright morning. They were getting closer to Christmas break, though it was still at least a month off. With that came the general joy of the basic majority of everyone, for one reason or another.  
“Good morning to you as well. I must say, this cheerful Malyn looks much happier than the school obsessed one we met at the start of the year,” Fred said, only to be corrected by his other half.  
“She’s still school obsessed, she just has more to her life. Speaking of said more to your life, do you plan on staying here for winter holiday? Because we were talking to our mother and she simply won’t allow it. We may have to force you to our home, if that’s the case.” George said, not giving Malyn the chance to respond to Fred before he began.  
“I have yet to decide what exactly it is I’m doing for my holiday. I’ll be sure to figure it out and let you know in a timely manner, wouldn’t want to disrespect your mother and the idea that she just may force me to do anything, as if anyone could. Though, if it were possible, it would definitely be someone’s mother.”  
The twins nodded and accepted that this was the most solid answer they were going to get at that time. They did not mind the idea of sharing a home with Malyn for two weeks. They especially didn’t mind the fact that their mother was very open to meeting this new friend of theirs, even after hearing plenty from George about how Fred was quite interested in her.   
“I’ll be there,” Hermione told Malyn, though it didn’t do much to sway her either way. It was meant to bring comfort, in case she was worried about not knowing anyone. That wasn’t the case, as she went to school with at least half the Weasley family. Besides, Malyn didn’t consider Hermione a friend.  
“Great.”  
The group of them ate their meal. The volume coming from them depended mostly on who was talking. Riley had no problem being loud, while Malyn simply wasn’t interested in the conversation.   
Her newfound confidence didn’t stop her from getting into her own head. She had been invited to stay with the Weasleys. She wasn’t sure how she’d respond, it would obviously take lots of thought and mental playthroughs of various situations. A few different scenarios could arise from this. Generally, it could end in her being adopted unofficially by Molly, as Harry had been, romance, or murder.  
“Thinking about my brother’s genitals again?” George asked her, earning a few bewildered and questioning looks. Naturally, it was impolite to discuss such things at the table.  
“Yeah, always. It’s my favorite thing to think about,” Malyn answered sarcastically, adding in a dramatic roll of her eyes.  
“You could buy me a butterbeer first, want to give it a try?”  
“I’ll agree to stay with you for Christmas instead.”   
Malyn wanted to die. She hadn’t thought before she spoke, of course. She didn’t really want to stay with them. At least, she hadn’t given it enough thought yet. She couldn’t take it back now, though. So that was the new plan.


	7. Chapter 07

The ride to the Weasley home had been interesting. She’d spent the majority of it mentally preparing herself for basically anything that could have happened. What might she do if they all turned out to be a cult, luring her into be used as a sacrifice for means of dark magic? What was the procedure if she managed to say something stupid to their mother? Of course, the latter was much more likely, and so she played that through a few separate times, each a bit differently. But she was being stupid and she knew it.  
“Tell your brain to shut up,” Ron told her. The two had very rarely spoken, even with his brothers now shoving themselves into her life. Still, he could see the wheels turning in her mind, and he was aware that she was nervous. She hadn’t been around or in a real family in quite some time.  
“I’m working on it.” She replied, giving him a small smile. It was much easier said than done.  
Ginny Weasley, the only one Malyn had ever spoken to before the twins, did her best to fill Malyn in on how things worked at their home. It was fairly basic, they had most of their time to do whatever they pleased. Meals were eaten together, mainly outside where there was room for everyone. Their family was always growing, it was hard to find a space big enough for the whole of them. It was easy enough to remember, though none of it stopped the mild anxiety that filled her chest.  
“Welcome to our home,” Fred said when they stopped, holding out his hand to help her. She accepted it, and allowed him to lead her inside the towering house.  
It was about what she expected. It was messy to the eye, but organized. Her mother had been like that as well. It smelled of various foods, all so different that she couldn’t determine one from another. Both intact magical and taken apart muggle items sat about. She remembered them telling her that Arthur was fascinated by all things muggle.   
She looked around the best she could as Fred continued to lead her to the kitchen. As they stepped in, Malyn noticed that Molly was already waiting, sitting at the table with a book in her hands.  
She’d seen Molly Weasley before, though never interacted with her. It was different to see her in her own environment, rather than for just a few quick seconds at the train station. Her red hair was slightly frizzed, her eyes were cast downward but Malyn could see that she had no makeup on. She looked very much like a mother, even reminded her a bit of her own.  
“Hi, mum.” Fred said, alerting Molly for the first time of their presence. Immediately, she put her reading down and stood. She pulled Fred into her grasp, forcing his and Malyn’s hands apart for the first time since they’d arrived. After gushing over her son for a moment, she turned to the young girl that accompanied him.  
“And you must be Malyn Highland, who I’ve heard lots about. How was the trip, Darling?” No time was wasted in pulling Malyn into her embrace next. It was a nearly soul-crushing hug, but that could just be because Malyn was no longer used to much physical contact.  
“It was good, Mrs.Weasley. Thank you for letting me join you, it’s very thoughtful of you.”  
“Nonsense. Call me Molly or Mum, you’ll call me either eventually I’m sure. You’re always welcome, any girl who manages to catch the eye of my Freddie must be very special, we could hardly get him to look up long enough to see what he was eating when he was a boy. It’s a miracle that someone’s managed to entice him enough for him to bring them home.” Molly babbled, making Malyn stifle a laugh at Fred’s embarrassed face. Of course his mother would immediately take the conversation this way, it was just like her.  
“We’re friends, Mum. I’m not enticed by anyone, and I still don’t watch what I’m eating. And you insisted that she come, so that’s more on you than me.” He said, hoping in his mind that it would quiet her. Alas, it didn’t.  
“Well, she’s gorgeous and so far polite. Friends is lovely, but I think you two would happen to be a beautiful couple if it ever came to that. Neither here nor there, I suppose. Are you hungry, Malyn?”  
It wasn’t really a question. Malyn wasn’t hungry, but she was still being sat at a table of food. She’d been told to expect this, and was ready for it to happen.  
“Apparently I’m the kind of girl you can bring home to meet your mother,” Malyn said to Fred, a smirk on her lips. She wasn’t likely to let it go anytime soon, he’d previously taken great joy in her embarrassing moments.  
“You are, but we should ignore that entire conversation. She doesn’t have much of a filter.”  
“I’m not ignoring it, it was cute. So who told her that I had caught your eye if you didn’t?”  
“Probably George.”  
“Well why would he say it if it’s not true?”   
“I didn’t say it wasn’t true, but there are many reasons he’d do that. It could have been Ron too. He does everything he can to get the attention off of him and Hermione; Mum’s been trying to give them the sex talk since they started dating.”  
Malyn laughed a truly joyous and bubbly laugh. She tried to picture it and found herself laughing even more. Before long, Fred couldn’t help but grin at her. From the window, Molly and George watched silently, both hoping that this was it for Fred.  
“That’s just too good. Poor boy, I don’t know what I’d do if I had to have that conversation with my parents.”  
“You didn’t?”  
“Well, they died. We didn’t do much talking when they were alive, either. I wasn’t old enough for them to understand, so they didn’t try to.”  
Fred quieted and the smile left his face. It was one of the sadder things he’d heard. Sure, Hermione had told him about her, but what the hell did Hermione really know? This lovely girl had never had a normal family relationship, not even when she had a family.He didn’t pity her, but he felt badly.  
“Wow, I sure know how to kill a good mood,” Malyn said, turning to pick at the bread in front of her. She figured that she shouldn’t have said anything. She hated playing the dead parent card, hated talking about it. She never really had talked about it, though, not even with Riley.  
“Don’t do that to yourself, you’re allowed to talk. If you’d like, I can ask my mother to give you the talk.”  
“I appreciate the thought, but I’m fully aware of everything she’d tell me. I’ve got Riley, and we both know she’s not shy with details. Is it awkward though?”  
“Extremely. I don’t tend to appreciate my mother describing different positions. She could have just gotten me a book or something.”   
Again, Malyn laughed. Fred thought about how it sounded. Her true, genuine laugh was a sound like no other. He never expected to appreciate the sighs that fell from her lips as her lungs pled for the breath she couldn’t give them. Her delight made him feel triumphant. Usually, he had to work to earn the universal sound of happiness. With Malyn, it was all so easy.He could listen to her laugh for every second of his life and never tire of it.  
“You’re not really one for reading books, though, are you? I suppose it would mostly consist of pictures though,” she giggled.  
Still looking at her, he shook his head. How the hell had he never seen this girl before this year? How had he not fallen in love with her years ago?


	8. Chapter 08

“Tired?” Ron asked Malyn as she stifled a yawn. She shook her head, trying to convince herself that she was telling the truth. It was early, that was all.  
“No, I slept very well. Actually, it was one of the better sleeps I’ve had lately, arguably in this whole year. I’m just a general mess.”  
Fred pushed her shoulder lightly. He figured that if he did something noticeable everytime she spoke badly about herself, she’d soon stop. It was a long shot, but he had nothing to lose by trying it..  
They had been at the Burrow for exactly four days. It had been nice, fairly relaxing. Today, however, Malyn knew it would be less so. Today was the day that the other members of the family would be arriving, all finally taking a break from their jobs.   
She tried to remind herself that they were just people. A curse breaker and a dragon trainer, neither of whom were likely to even notice her with so many other around. Still, it did little to ease her mind. Meeting new people was still not her strong point. What if she called herself a school again?  
She quickly pushed the thoughts from her mind. Things were going to happen as they did, worrying had no way of changing that. In fact, worrying might just make it worse.   
“Are you two dating or not?” Ginny demanded as everyone else took their seats at the table. She’d noticed how often Fred and Malyn were together the last few days, and she needed answers. Either way, she would support them, but she had to know.  
“We’re friends.” Fred said. That seemed to be all he said anytime he was asked anything of the sort.   
Malyn wasn’t offended by it. They were friends, closer than she was with the others though. She felt he was far out of her league anyways. Not only was he utterly gorgeous, he was funny and popular. Her? She was just Malyn with the dead family who read a lot.  
Ginny nodded, accepting it for now but knowing that she must speak to him privately later. If he liked her, which he seemed to, she’d do what she could to help him. She knew her brother wasn’t well versed in women, even though George was. Fred had always been focused on other things.  
“Yeah, we’re friends.I haven’t decided yet if I’m going to ask him on a date,” Malyn said nonchalantly, taking a bite of toast. She pretended not to notice when Fred choked on his own.  
“You wouldn’t wait for him to ask you?” Hermione asked. That’s what she’d done with Ron.  
“I wouldn’t ever wait for someone else to do something. I don’t depend on the actions of other to make my own choices.”  
“Well what if he were to say no?”  
“Then he says no. If that’s the worst that could happen, then what’s there to worry about? Embarrassment? There are much worse things in the world, Hermione.”  
Malyn wasn’t troubled with what Hermione may think of this. She was a nice girl, but liked everything to happen her way. She could do that with her life all she wanted, but it had nothing to do with Malyn. She was far past the point in her life where she lived according to the standards of other people.   
“Well on that note, Bill and Charlie should be arriving soon,” Molly said, brushing her hands against her clothes. She wanted to diffuse the situation before it became an actual one. While she very much wanted Fred and Malyn to suddenly announce their undying love for each other and get married, she knew that it needed to happen in its own time, if it was even going to happen.  
The regular conversation returned, leaving everyone to their own thoughts on whatever had just occurred. Not one person had the same opinion. Hermione found it nontraditional, Ginny was hopeful, Fred was confused.  
Fred was confused about a lot lately. All of it was to do with Malyn Highland and everything about her. Not so long ago, he had no intentions of getting to know her personally. Now, he found himself craving to know every detail. He wanted to hold her hand and make her laugh in a way that only he could. He’d get there, if and when they were both ready.He’d promised himself that.  
“Sorry,” Malyn whispered to him, tearing him from the spot in his mind where his thoughts still lingered.  
“For what?”  
“You look uncomfortable. There’s a line, I know, but I can’t know if I’ve crossed it if you don’t tell me. So, I’m sorry for crossing the line and I’ll be more cautious to not do it again.”  
What a silly girl she was. Cross the line? Malyn could take a knife to his throat and still be very much within the margins. He mostly wanted to laugh at her, but didn’t want to draw the attention back to them.   
“You didn’t. I’m not uncomfortable, you couldn’t make me uncomfortable even if you tried.”   
She gave him a look, which he knew meant that she’d accept it as a challenge if prompted to do so. Naturally, it wasn’t a challenge, and he didn’t want to test it because he knew she wasn’t to be trifled with. He shook his head and turned back to his food, much less hungry now.  
* * *   
As the Weasley family had known, Malyn was getting along just fine with Bill and Charlie. Even Percy seemed to approve of her, which seemed impossible because he didn’t approve of anything or anyone these days.She was a total package, one that had something that appealed to everyone.  
Fred thought that maybe she was a little too appealing. He didn’t think that, of course, until he noticed his brother shamelessly flirting with her. She didn’t see it as such, because she didn’t know Charlie that well. However, being his brother, Fred could see directly through the “conversation” that the two were having over lunch.  
“We get it, Char, you like dragons. We’ve known that for about as long as you’ve been alive. Can we move on now?” George asked, sensing his twin’s irritation.   
The comment didn’t bother Charlie in the least. He wasn’t doing anything wrong here, she was a single girl who he happened to find very interesting. He wasn’t going to rob a girl from out beneath his brother, but it didn’t seem to him that she’d be under any of them anytime soon.  
“I don’t just like them, I’m passionate about them. It’s a very trying job, George, it’s nice to speak with someone who is actually paying attention to the words coming from my mouth for once.” Charlie dismissed, with a wave of his hand.  
Malyn wasn’t so much interested as she was trying to be polite. The only thing she was paying attention to lately was Fred, and she knew she had to get along with his family. Perhaps this was a bit too close for comfort, though.  
“Well, it’s a very neat profession, one I can’t think many people would take. What do you plan on doing, George?”  
“You already know that, Mal. We’re going to run a joke shop and be as famous as Zonko’s. We take it very seriously.”  
Malyn nodded, she had in fact already heard this. Mostly, she wanted to draw her attention away from Charlie in a kind manner. She knew that George and her were comfortable, though clearly not as much as Fred and she.   
“That’s a solid end goal. How long have you been planning it?” She asked. There was almost nothing the twins liked more than talking about their futures.  
“Our whole lives basically,” Fred answered, setting his hand on top of hers, “there’s still a lot that we need to work out. It’s not easy, and we’re smart but not that kind. I figure we could use help with getting all the steps and such in order.”  
She nodded again. That had been the original reason that they’d bothered with her. She was smart, good at preparing and making plans. That had been the initial intention, not whatever the situation was now.  
“Well, you’ve got me. You know fully well that I don’t have an easy time saying no to you, Fred Weasley.”  
“Why’s that?”  
“Let’s have that conversation at another time.”  
The was Charlie’s cue. He knew how to take hints, how to read people. She was very clearly interested, just not in him. He wondered if they saw it, if they knew how it looked to someone on the outside. Two young people, hopelessly involved with each other. It wasn’t love yet, but it had the potential to be such.


End file.
